Reflected Shadows
by sungrass
Summary: [One-shot] Adam may have left the White Fang, but they aren't done with him yet. Originally a submission for the RWBY subreddit's Writing Prompt Wednesday.


Adam tore through the forces invading Beacon, leaving disintegrating grimm and scraps of metal scattered across the ground. Once the huntsmen from the coliseum arrived, he broke off from the group to assist Weiss. He scowled at the amount of resistance he encountered.

"Not your best work, Schnee." But even as he said the words, something nagged at him. Maybe Weiss had run past these grimm to defend some survivors, but then the grimm would have been attracted towards their distress, moving in the same direction as Adam, not towards the combat he had left. That either meant more grimm were pouring in faster than his teammate could kill them, or something had gone wrong. Adam drew up to one of the great halls, one side engulfed in flames. He scanned the area looking for a sign, when he heard a cry of pain. He ran towards the building heedless of the flames and debris, crashing through both and flaring his aura as he leapt through a collapsed window.

"Weiss!" Adam shouted. Weiss lay sprawled face down, moving slowly. She was bleeding at her side where someone had slashed her torso, and someone had driven Myrtenaster into the ground by her arm, encasing it in ice to her elbow and pinning her in place. She raised her head as Adam moved to help her and her eyes widened. Before she could utter a sound, Adam's hand shot to Wilt, and he spun around drawing his sword just in time to block a strike. Steel pressed on steel, and Adam grit his teeth as he fought to adopt a better stance without getting slashed.

The woman wore a white long coat and a grimm mask, and cat ears poked out of her hair. The sword Adam blocked was broad, like a giant meat cleaver. Despite the aggression the woman struck with she wore a detached, almost bored expression.

"I didn't think I could be more disappointed in you," she said, her voice even. "I expected you to run into an obvious trap, but for a Schnee? You wound me, Dearest."

"I'll do more than wound you, Blake!"

Adam dropped his free hand to Blush and fired it point-blank into her sternum. The clone burst in a cloud of smoke and Adam dashed forward and to the left, slicing through an upturned table to find the original. Blake separated her sword into two blades and they circled the room, Adam swinging Wilt and firing Blush in a cyclone of fury, while Blake deflected his strikes with a relaxed efficiency, spending as little energy as possible. Adam thrust forward and Blake spun around him, delivering two long slashes to his back. Adam cried out and stumbled, leaning on a piece of rubble to stay upright.

"You've been spending too much time with these novices, Adam," she said. "You've become sloppy again."

Adam roared in fury, charging Blake. She just smirked and leapt towards him as if to tackle him, then sprang up out of an earth dust clone. Adam shattered the clone, but the momentum of the clone's rubble still knocked him onto his back, causing him to drop Blush. Blake landed on his left arm, pinned it with another earth clone, and pounced onto the flat of Wilt's blade before he could use it to break his arm free. She crouched and held the tip of her katana to his face. She shook her head, slow and mournful.

"I found you clinging to life," Blake said. "I nursed you back to health, trained you, unlocked your semblance; I trusted you with the lives of our brothers and sisters…and after all that, you left. When I heard you ended up at Beacon, some foolish part of me harbored this _vain hope_ that you were trying to infiltrate the school, that I'd come back to my tent one day to find my proud strong bull bearing valuable information, maybe even the Schnee girl. But instead you embraced this flawed institution, you occupied your time with childish distractions, and you allied yourself with one of our greatest enemies. Why did you betray us?"

"I never betrayed the Faunus!" Adam shouted, unsuccessfully trying to lunge towards Blake. "Vale and Beacon aren't perfect, but they're trying to ease tensions with the Faunus, not escalate them. I still hunger and fight for equality and peace, but you've grown cold. All you care about is reversing the scales instead of balancing them, all you want is revenge!"

Blake frowned. She nicked Adam's nose and cheek with her blade, making him wince and growl, then stood and casually kicked Wilt out of his hand. She began to pace around him.

"So much passion, Adam; your greatest strength and weakness. It makes you loyal, steadfast, brave—and reckless, and arrogant, and idealistic. That's why you've never won a spar with me: I fight with a much cooler head. Your teacher and I both agreed that you'd have died an inept thug if we hadn't reined in your temper and your insufferable flair for being dramatic. Passion is an excellent fuel, but if you can't control it you'll eventually sabotage yourself. The White Fang was founded on passion and ideals. It got us nowhere, so we found a new way. You call me cold, I simply think of it as being practical."

Adam began to laugh hysterically, clutching his ribs with his free arm. Blake's lips drew back in a snarl and she pinned his arm with her boot. A ripple of anger flowed through the dangerous calm in her voice.

"I wasn't aware our lives' purpose was such a humorous subject, Dearest."

"Your weakness," Adam said, his laughter dying down, "is that you read too many books."

"That's a weakness? Maybe you wouldn't be so goddamn thick if you opened one every so often."

"Oh Blake. I've always been angry, but I learned my melodramatic flair from you."

Blake had just enough time to scowl at Adam before a black glyph appeared behind her and Weiss flew through the air, kicking her in the jaw. Blake landed on her back and slid into a pile of rubble, while Weiss landed on her feet, stumbling but remaining upright. With a flourish of Myrtenaster, she broke the clone pinning Adam's arm, then dashed towards Blake, poised to skewer her.

Blake leapt to her feet, let a clone take the hit, and grabbed Weiss around the waist, pinning her arms to her side. She held her katana to Weiss' throat and spun her around to use her as a shield against Adam. Weiss still held on to Myrtenaster but all she could do was flick it from her wrist, like a conductor with a comically oversized baton. Blake pressed the edge of the blade just enough to draw a trickle of blood.

"That's enough from you, princess." Weiss froze, clenching her jaw. Adam had recovered Wilt and was standing, pointing it at Blake.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Blake let out a low chuckle. "The only way you could dream of killing me is if I let you charge your semblance, and I have been very careful to avoid that."

"Just walk away Blake. Let Weiss go and let's talk this out."

"No. There's nothing to discuss. You have two options: Fall on your sword, and I promise that Miss Schnee's death will be painless. She may even return to Atlas alive if her family concedes to our demands. Fight me, and you still die, but Miss Schnee dies tonight only if she's very, very, lucky."

Blake bit the side of Weiss' neck and she winced. Adam looked to Blake, then Weiss, then back to Blake. Slowly, he turned Wilt around to point at his stomach, grasping its hilt with both hands.

Blake smirked. "If it makes you feel any better, you were my greatest partner despite your failings. I will mourn what we had."

"We shared many things, but we were never partners. I was just a servant with useful talents. I trust my teammates here more than I ever trusted you."

"Spare me. Do you have any last words befitting a soldier of the White Fang?"

Adam squared his stance and raised the blade. "Three: Weiss, friendly fire!"

With a flick of her wrist, Weiss sent a massive plume of flame from Myrtenaster directly at Adam. He slid one hand halfway down the blade to brace it, absorbed the blast, then shot forward, thrusting Wilt a hair's breadth from Weiss' neck through Blake's forehead. Blake dropped her katana and Weiss collapsed on all fours, gasping for breath.

Blake's face froze in surprise. Then she disintegrated in a cloud of purple smoke, yet another decoy taking the hit. Adam fell to his knees, exhausted, leaning on Wilt to keep upright. From somewhere in the flames and smoke, Blake's voice crept out, filling the air.

"Maybe you've betrayed the cause Adam, but you haven't grown as soft as I'd thought you had. My brothers have decided it's time to pull out, but we will meet again. We'll have a proper duel. And if you disappoint me again, I'll draw your death out almost as long as Miss Schnee's—assuming of course neither of you die in this fire. Farewell, my Dearest."

Adam struggled to stand, then fell back to a kneeling position, succumbing to general exhaustion and the smoke. He looked around and saw they were both encircled by fire and debris. Weiss was curled on her side, shuddering as she let out a series of tiny, almost prim coughs. Adam's vision swam and he wobbled despite his sword to support him. Behind him he heard the crash of a section of roof collapsing.

 _Can't stop,_ he thought. _Need to help…_

Coherent thought escaped him. Somewhere nearby more loud crashes sounded, but through the haze something sounded different about them, familiar. Suddenly two explosions went off in rapid succession, and a section of the wall fell away, opening a path outside. Adam felt an arm wrap around his torso and pull him to his feet. He lurched unsteadily, letting himself be led along and suddenly the air was cooler and easier to breathe. He still felt dizzy, but thought came easier bit by bit.

When they reached a path near the docks, they collapsed on the flagstones, facing the sky. Adam turned his head to see Weiss lying unconscious, but being treated by a pair of huntsmen with first aid supplies. Between Adam and Weiss, Yang lay sprawled out, panting from exertion. When she had resumed something close to normal breathing she sat up, resting her elbows on her knees and looked at Adam.

"Do I want to know how you two almost ended up cremated?" she asked.

Adam sighed, wincing at the aches the action sent through his body. "You don't." He winced again as another huntsman knelt down next to him to examine his injuries.

Yang frowned, briefly looking at Weiss, then back at Adam. "Once you're both okay you _are_ going to tell me, right? I don't want a repeat of what happened when Weiss found out you were a Faunus."

Adam stared into the sky, exhausted. He felt Yang take his hand and squeeze it. He squeezed back.

"Just let me figure out where to start."

* * *

This was originally my submission for the RWBY subreddit Writing Prompt Wednesday on 11/2/16, where the prompt was reversing Adam and Blake's status in the White Fang. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you enjoyed it too.

And if you found this because you read Foundations of Brewing, I promise I'm editing the final chapter next, no more distractions.

-Sungrass


End file.
